SC asks Maha govt to compensate riot victims of 1992-’93
NEW DELHI: Thirty years after the 1992 Mumbai riots that left 900 people dead and more than 2000 injured, the Supreme Court has issued a slew of directives on paying compensation to the victims, tracing the absconding accused, and reviving dormant cases pertaining to the riots.
Maharashtra government has also been asked to constitute a special cell to trace the absconding accused in 97of the 253 rioting cases registered. The SC further instructed Maharashtra government to provide details of the 97 dormant cases to the registrar general of the Bombay High Court within one month.
Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and AS Oka underscored that a constitutional court cannot shut its eyes towards the plight of the victims just because the petition remained pending in the top court for 21 years.
The bench also held that an atmosphere of communal tension violates an individual’s constitutional right to life: “Article 21 of the Constitution of India confers a right on every citizen to live with human dignity. Article 21 encompasses into itself the right to live a meaningful and dignified life... if the citizens are forced to live in an atmosphere of communal tension, it affects their right to life guaranteed by Article 21...We cannot allow the victims to suffer only because there was a delay in the disposal of this writ petition.”
The court added: “It cannot be disputed that certain groups were responsible for the largescale violence in December 1992 and January 1993. There was a failure on the part of the state government to maintain law and order and to protect the rights of the people guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.” The widescale rioting in Bombay followed the demolition of the Babri masjid on December 6th. The state was then led by Congress chief minister Sudhakaraao Naik.
Friday’s SC order came on the petition filed by Shakeel Ahmed in 2001, demanding the implementation of recommendations
made by the Justice BN Srikrishna Commission in 1998 on issues spanning compensation to the victims, efficient investigation and quick trials, and police reforms.
Noting that 97 out of 253 criminal cases were dormant because the accused were untraceable, the top court ordered the state government to immediately constitute a special cell to trace the missing accused and make them stand trial.
“The state government shall provide details of 97 cases on dormant files to the registrar general of the Bombay high court within one month from today. On receipt of the details, the high court, on the administrative side, shall issue necessary communication to the concerned courts in which the cases are pending to take necessary steps to trace the accused,” it added.
The court further took note of the latest affidavit filed by the Maharashtra government that family members of 108 persons missing after the riots were not paid compensation of Rs 2 lakh each because they could not be located or the families failed to comply with the formalities.
Directing the state government to “make all possible efforts to trace the legal heirs/ family members of the missing persons” and pay all compensation within nine months, the top court set up a three-member committee, to be headed by the member secretary (a judicial officer) of the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority to monitor this exercise. The committee has been asked to submit a compliance report after ten months.
It further clarified that the state government shall pay an interest at the rate of 9% to all the victims if it has not disbursed the compensation within six months of the government resolution dated July 22, 1998 announcing the monetary measure.
“900 persons died and more than 2000 persons were injured. The houses, places of business and properties of the citizens were destroyed. These are all violations of their rights guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. One of the root causes of their suffering was the failure of the State Government to maintain law and order. Therefore, the affected persons had a right to seek compensation from the state government,” it maintained.
“We hope and trust that after 75 years of independence, riot-like situations will never arise,” added the court, as it directed the state government to expeditiously implement the recommendations made by Justice Srikrishna Commission regarding the improvement and modernisation of the police force.